Papa Cat Wins Internet Fame For His Adorable Meeting With His Newborn Kittens

Jun 16, 2021

Having babies around, even kittens or puppies, is always an exciting time for everyone. This is especially true for the parents who get to see their beloved baby for the first time. A young cat family celebrated the birth of their adorable little kittens in May 2021, and the father cat had a precious reaction when seeing his babies for the first time.

The mother cat, named Chloe, is a Scottish fold and she has adorable little folded ears and fluffy gray hair. The father is called Bonik and he is easy to tell apart from Chloe, despite their similar coloring, because his ears are straight. In a viral video starring this cute cat family, Bonik gets close to the kittens’ bed and waits while Chloe comes to greet him. 

Bonik gives Chloe’s leg a kiss and the mother then retreats to lay next to her kittens once more. This is when Papa cat gets up and moves closer to get a good look at his babies. He gives them a good sniff to familiarize himself with them. Even though male cats can sometimes behave in a hostile manner toward their young, Bonik looks very relaxed and happy in their presence. 

Chloe keeps a close eye on Bonik the entire time, just in case he starts acting aggressive. At one point in the video, she even lies between Bonik and the kittens for extra protection. However, it looks like she has nothing to worry about as Bonik is acting like a perfect father and only seems interested in getting to know the little ones. 

According to the BBC, all Scottish folds are descended from the same animal, a white barn cat named Susie. She lived on a farm near Coupar Angus, Scotland and was discovered in 1961. Susie gained the attention of local shepherd and cat fancier, William Ross, who noticed that her ears were folded. 

The Ross family started breeding Susie with other cats and in 1966 the Rosses began registering them with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, the UK's pedigree cat registry. Unfortunately, the GCCF decided to stop registering the folds in the 1970s because of concerns about ear disorders and hearing problems that were occurring due to the breeding.  

The reason the Scottish folds’ ears appear in this way is because of a natural dominant-gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body. This causes the ears to fold, which gives the cats a cute owl-like appearance. However, it has been determined that ultimately the mutation causes problems that can affect a cat’s health.

The president of the British Veterinary Association, Gudrun Ravetz, told the BBC:

"These cats have become so popular on social media and with celebrities. People are wanting to have these cats because of that, but unfortunately it is another example of us prioritising how a pet looks rather than their quality of life."

She continued, "These genetic mutations, which all the Scottish fold cats will have, develop into lifelong incurable and painful diseases such as a type of arthritis." Hopefully, people will become more conscious of the drawbacks to breeding cats. In the meantime, we are happy for Chloe and Bonik and their adorable kittens. We wish them all long and healthy lives.

What was your reaction to seeing Bonik meet his kittens for the first time? Would you own a Scottish fold? Let us know your opinion and be sure to pass this story on to the cat lovers in your life.